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The year's best... HD TVs

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Sony Bravia KDL-32EX703

This year also saw companies finally get serious about offering support for Internet services. In part, this sudden enthusiasm came about thanks to the inclusion of an Ethernet port in the Freeview HD and Freesat HD spec. When the Ethernet port is there, manufacturers seemed to say to themselves, we may as well make use of it.

Surprisingly, Sony perhaps, made the best fist of this, especially on its Bravia KDL-32EX703. Not only did it add handy telly catch up services like BBC iPlayer and Demand Five, but it also included the LoveFilm movie on demand rental service too. What’s more the set was no slouch when it came to digital media playback, thanks to its support for the Xvid and Divx formats, both locally from its USB port and also streamed across a network from a PC.

Sharp Aquos LC-46LE821E

Rather than chasing after the third dimension, Sharp instead decided that what its premium sets needed was a ‘fourth pixel’. Basically, along with the traditional red, green and blue pixels you find on other LCD models, Sharp’s Quattron sets adds an extra yellow pixel in an effort to improve the richness of the available colour palette. This produced sterling results on the company’s high-end Aquos LC-46LE821E, with the Quattron technology quite noticeably improving the realism of skin tones and generally creating images with much more subtle and natural looking colours. However, with a price tag just shy of two grand, it’s a technology that certainly doesn’t come cheap.